Fitness Center Information Systems Plan

FITNESS SYSTEM INFORMATION SYSTEM PLAN

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FITNESS CENTER INFORMATION SYSTEM PLAN

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Fitness Center Information System Plan

Introduction

II .1 Nature of Information System

The world that we live in becomes more complex by the day . The level of complexity grows as new technologies emerge , philosophical ideas come to mind and the need of people within our vast populations develops . Facing these changes , businesses must also have the capacity to adapt to the new ways of the

people or be left behind in the dust of change . This is true for all business , but especially for small and new emerging businesses

Small or new emerging businesses will face tremendous challenge in their target markets , whether in the form of intense competition or in the form of adapting to customers ' demands . To deal with these challenges , they deploy corporate strategies . In the end , the least capable must go out of business and the survivors grow . However , despite the hardship that has been experienced by these new growing companies they still need to serious issues that will rob them of their success if they are unable to react accordingly . As the company grows , the level of difficulty gets higher . There are more issues to address and more people to manage

Information system was made to assist leaders and managers to deal with the challenges that come with corporate growth . It strengthens communication between businesses with their business suppliers , partners and customers . In its stages of development , information technology goes through these phases

It starts as laboratory of curiosities

Specialist use them to solve particular problems in small scales

The system becomes manufacturability , but still used by relatively small number of people

It becomes pervasive , and people view it as a part of the natural world

(Birnbaum 1997

According to analysts , we have come to enter the fourth stage , where information technology is considered a requirement rather than advancement

II .2 Benefits of Information System

There are several common benefits of having a well-maintained information system . First , it helps managers make reasonable decision more efficiently . We often heard that the most valuable commodity today is information , and thus , the business of delivering it to customers has becomes a vital business for any company . Without good , accurate and timely information , good decisions cannot be made . For instance , a low-level manager in the production site might require detail information about company 's production plan before start producing , on the other hand , an upper level manager might need summaries of corporate progress to make long-term plans

Second , an information system is also a means of security . As mentioned previously , information is a very valuable commodity within all business . Therefore , competitors are constantly looking for news about their rival in the same industry . Within this world of intense competition , safeguarding corporate information is a valuable ability . A good information system will not only provide managers with required and timely information , but also safeguard them from unauthorized personnel

Third , a good information system is also a good control tool . The behavioral theory implied that employees can be controlled by observing their work behavior to the outcomes from their work behavior . By performing periodical evaluations that leads to a good reward and punishment system , managers will provide a motivation tool for employees to improve their performance . A well-maintained information system will provide owners and managers with accurate information about how their employees perform during a certain period

Forth , A good information system will enable leaders of the company to coordinate their managers in effort of achieving corporate goals . Today it has become a common strategy that managers of a certain department or division is positioned to compete with other managers in achieving their goals . This could create possibilities that managers would strive for their personal performance rather than working for the benefits of the company at large . Their decision might end-up hurting the company rather than helping them . A well-designed information system will help managers to communicate with one another and coordinate their plans in the best interest of the company

II . Information System Plan

Today , as the major changes happens in business , information system have to be redesigned . In to deliver optimum benefits for users of information systems , analysts have to evaluate existing information systems on how well they fit the new business structure and modified processes . In the case of building a new venture , this issue gained a lot more attention form managers . In to design a system that matches the requirements of a business , managers are encouraged to develop a business model for the company . A business model is a reflection of the core business of a company from the perspective of its main mission , what products or services it wishes to provide for customers and in what manners (Drori , 1997

The Business model is a stable representation of what the company is doing among the society . It changes only when the basic products services it delivers changes . A higher understanding of business logic without stepping into details of implementation is required to facilitate the development of a good information system . However analysts have warned managers about the challenge of making a business model

First , it might be unclear of where to start unraveling the business model . Managers generally observe their business processes in the hope of extracting the core philosophy of running the business

Second , there is no clear guidelines to determine what should be included in a business model that would reflect the core business rather than their implementation . Occasionally , managers mix both without realizing it

Third , managers need to decompose the business model into meaningful information system components . This is acknowledged as the greatest challenge of making and information system

Within this , we must go through these challenges in to obtain a sound design of information system outline

II .1 Fitness Center Specifications

II .1 .1 Business Model

There is a sound logic on building a fitness center in the midst of the increasing health-consciousness within the modern society . However , the core model of building a fitness center could very according to the owner . For example , the proper purpose of a fitness center is generally to prevent injuries and illness and help build healthier lifestyles for members . However , some fitness centers focus in marketing their services to corporation , offering that they can reduce health care expenditure of employees , absenteeism and increase employee motivation and overall business performance . Others focus on cooperating with hospitals and athletes groups in providing them with therapy programs that supports recovery from injuries (Bates , 2000

Different core models resulted in the different business plan because managers would have to provide different equipment to support their core model . For instance , the fitness center that is built with the purpose of providing customers with healthier lifestyles generally has a much simpler set of equipment than those fitness center with recovery therapeutic purposes . Corporate fitness center business design will also be very different with the other two models because it must contain more recreational aspects that relaxes employees and conditioned them toward better working performance

II .1 .2 Business Plan

After defining the core purpose of building the fitness center , the next step prior to developing he information system is to develop a fitness center business plan . According to Fitness Center Design and Management (2006 , there are several issues that we must pay attention to in making a fitness center business plan . The process generally starts with a Feasibility study , to evaluate the need and support for the fitness center in our particular location . The study could be performed by means of survey , interviews , focus groups and facility inspections

Afterwards , we should develop the fitness center design . This task needs proper attention also . For instance , according Life Fitness (2005 fitness managers should realize the importance of having the proper mix of cardiovascular and strength training equipment to meet the needs of their members . Nevertheless , many do not realize the importance of layout and planning of the facility in to be successful . Managers should also pay attention to basic requirements like keeping safety functionality and comfort . Other business plan steps include marketing strategies , facility management , and quality assurance management

II .2 Steps of Developing the System

There are several steps of developing a good information system for any start-up businesses . First we must specify the characteristic of our system to be . In to have a high usability , information systems should be able to satisfy requirements of different departments at once Some of the values that must exist within such information system are

Appropriate functionality , in the sense that the system should solve the right problem , has the capacity to communicate the rational purpose to involved personnel and help perform the work that must be performed

Ergonomic , the information system 's equipment must have appropriate physical fit , effective screen design , dialog model , etc

Cognitive fit , the system should provide appropriate functionality feedback , support for learning and accessible understanding

(Drori , 1997

The next step is to define the roles , positions , and needs of the people involved within the design . The following table is a good example

Purpose : Owners Profit , organizational growth

Employees Personal wealth , contribution to company , recognition

Suppliers Profit , steady business

Customers Quality purchases , consistent reliable service Abstract Functions : Owners Cost cutting , improving product /service value , develop corporate culture , brand recognition

Employees Maximize work efficiency , promotion , expanding responsibility at work

Suppliers Brand recognition , communicate with customers , minimizing cost

Customers Fulfill a needs for least possible cost General Functions : Owners Marketing , hiring , training , defining performance targets , delegation of tasks , encourage innovation

Employees Build professional relationships , carry out tasks , create better methods or better product /service

Suppliers sell product , market to potential customers , establish long term relationship with current customers

Customers Buy product /service , gather knowledge of competing options Physical Processes : Owners Check status of ongoing projects , provide customer support

Employees Communicate with co-workers and management , read relevant documents

Suppliers Deliver product /service , work out payment method , inform customer

Customers Receive product /service , give payment Physical Form : Owners Computer , Internet , phone , fax , email , Office software , rolodex ' software

Employees Computer , Internet , phone , fax , email , Office software design software , rolodex ' software

Suppliers Fleet /delivery mechanism

Customers Equity (buying power

After defining the roles and the equipment necessary to perform that role , we should design the functionality of the information system that will describe the sequence of activities within the system . Within this step , people generally use a diagram to depict how information will flow from one department to another . The following is a common example

Figure 1 Information System for A Fitness Center

Source : Denq , Tina . Hood , David . 2006 . Information System for Small Businesses . Retrieved July 30 , 2006 from http /www .prism .gatech .edu gte663z /IE6231 /denq_hood .htm

II .3 System Review

Performance of the system is limited by the abilities of its employees People are prone to mistakes and poor judgement when they are fatigued or overworked . Furthermore , there is a common issue of `crisis of control ' when existing information systems for communication and control are no longer able to cope with increased volume of data flow or the increasing complexity of data flow . Therefore , the system as well as the functionality of the people who operate the system must be under periodic examination

The standards that guide such evaluation must be the purpose that managers have defined in the preliminary step of building the system Within this case , the functionality , ergonomic and cognitive fit aspects are the standards of system evaluation . Managers should change the standards only if it is deemed inappropriate to face new business challenges

Conclusion

Building information system for the fitness center involves many steps associated with controlling the flow of information . After a proper consideration of the roles of each personnel within the system designing the system as a whole , and ensuring that each personnel has the capability to perform the task given to them , the system will brought the following benefits : streamlining internal process coordinating inter-company projects , improving interdepartmental communications and reaching a more specified customer base . All lead to expanded business capabilities and the capacity to obtain greater profit or sold more services

Bibliography

Bates , D . W . 2000 . Using information technology to reduce rates of medication errors in hospitals ' British Medical Journal 320 (7237 :788-791

Birnbaum , Joel (1997 . Pervasive information system . Communicastions of the ACM , vol 40 (2 . Feburary 1997 . pp . 40-43

Denq , Tina . Hood , David . 2006 . Information System for Small Businesses Retrieved July 30 , 2006 from http /www .prism .gatech .edu gte663z /IE6231 /denq_hood .htm

Drori , Offer . 1997 . From theory to practice or how not to fail in developing information systems . ACM SIGSOFT , pp . 85-89

`Fitness Center Design and Management . 2006 . Wellness Connection Retrieved July 30 , 2006 from http /www .wellnessconnection .com /fcdm .html

`Limiting Liability When Designing a Fitness Facility . 2005 Life Fitness . Retrieved July 30 , 2006 from http /wiryana .pandu .org /artikel /_issm

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